In human-computer interaction there is a natural evolution, enabled by technical innovation, toward a more immersive experience for users. Consumers have witnessed a major movement by television manufacturers to provide “3D” TV to provide realistic images that appear to be actual images seen in true free space rather than on a two-dimensional screen. Game controller manufacturers provide auditory and tactile feedback to game controllers, adding to the feel of a player being in the game or battle by emitting sounds or by vibrating the hand held controller as an avatar or similar image on the screen is hit by bullet, punch, etc. These are direct sensory inputs created to make interacting with a computer more life-like.
The NINTENDO® WII REMOTE® wireless controller is an example of recent state of the art in user interactive controllers for computer display game systems. It is a movable wireless remote controller that incorporates inertial sensors to provide motion capture to their controllers. It is hand-held by the interactive user, and transmits input data to the computer controlled game display system via conventional short-range wireless RF transmissions (e.g., a BLUETOOTH® system), and receives data via infrared light sensors.
Previous systems using magnetic, optical, ultrasound and non-integrated circuit inertial devices were cumbersome and expensive. Motion capture using inertial sensing like the Wii® allows people to use their own movement to initiate an interaction with the video game. This inertial sensing was a breakthrough for game playing and pushed the “virtual reality” experience past simple visual, tactile, or audible interaction like the original VR systems that became popular in the 1980's.
After the success of the Wii®, many new applications were created to add to the immersive experience of games or related software. Additional competitive systems were introduced, including Sony's MOVE™ controller, which uses inertial systems and camera tracking technology that tracks an active optical marker to register controller's position in three-dimensional space. Other technologies have focused on eliminating the need for a controller and/or peripheral; for example, Microsoft's KINECT®, a camera based gesture-tracking system that uses reflected infrared light to make measurements on the light reflected off the objects being tracked. Both the MOVE™ and KINECT® register either the user's peripheral or the user's body in a software program's digital environment. This three-dimensional registration is used to fuse the user and user's environment with the digital program being interacted with on screen. High-end motion-capture systems still use these same optical techniques.
These input devices have allowed consumers to interact with games in new and highly intuitive ways. These current state of the art movable controllers also provide haptic feedback. Haptic feedback is commonly used in arcade and video game controllers. An example of this feature is the simulated automobile steering wheels that are programmed to provide a “feel” of the road. As the user makes a turn or accelerates, the steering wheel responds by resisting turns or slipping out of control. Other simple examples include handlebar shake in motorcycle-based games, gun shake in shooting games, joystick vibrations, etc. Sony's DUALSHOCK™ technology and the handheld remote controller for the NINTENDO® WIT® feature such technology.
A consumer 3D touch device with high resolution three-dimensional force feedback, allowing the simulation of objects, textures, recoil, momentum, physical presence of objects in games through haptic feedback initiated at the device is now available from NOVINT™ HAPTICS™. The feedback is enabled by actuators that apply the forces to the skin for touch feedback to simulate touching something such as a virtual object on the screen, if free space. The actuator provides mechanical motion in response to an electrical stimulus. Most early designs of haptic feedback use electromagnetic technologies such as vibratory motors with an offset mass, such as the pager motor, that is in most cell phones or voice coils where a central mass or output is moved by a magnetic field. The electromagnetic motors typically operate at resonance and provide strong feedback, but have limited range of sensations. Next-generation actuator technologies are beginning to emerge, offering a wider range of effects thanks to more rapid response times. Next generation haptic actuator material technologies include electro-active materials, which includes piezoelectric and polymer materials.